After Darkness II

by J. F. Johns

  'Guard!' Petra called out. The door opened. 'Bring dear Terra a glass of water. We wouldn't want the poor thing to pass out, would we?' The door shut.

  Terra was pretty sure she had dozed off, because suddenly a guard was in front of her, holding a cup full of water. He brought it to her lips and she swallowed it eagerly, her eyes widening with pleasure as the cool liquid slid down her dry throat. It was gone too soon and she moaned for more.

  'That'll be quite enough for now.' Petra dismissed the guard, those blue icy eyes never leaving Terra. 'Is there anything else you would like?' Petra's smile never faltered.

  The room was freezing cold. Terra's nose as well as the tips of her fingers had gone numb. Her thoughts had become a tangled mess and it was hard to keep track of everything that was happening. Her breathing had slowed and the only thing she felt was sleepiness.

  'I'm glad to see that we've provided you with everything you need,' Petra said.

  A harsh sound brought Terra to wake up, startled. The X-Prototype had dragged her metallic chair closer. Now she was only inches away from Terra. 'Your eyes fascinate me,' she said. 'I wonder whether cutting them out would grant me more power.'

  Terra's muscles tensed with fear. A wave of nausea took over, but she hadn't eaten enough for it to leave her body.

  'Don't look at me like that,' Petra said, glancing down at her fingernails. 'I'm not going to do that.' She chuckled. 'But it would be fun, wouldn't it? I'm not that cruel. I know you think I am, but I'm not.' Petra tilted her head to one side. 'Or maybe I am. Who's to know? I'm not like you, therefore I don't think like you or even care like you. You could all fall dead and I wouldn't bat my eyes. You're all just pawns to us Gods.'

  'You're no God,' Terra muttered.

  'Am I not?' Petra placed her hand over her chest, looking offended. 'I am the closest thing there is to a God.'

  'You're just an experiment that didn't work out,' Terra spat. 'Forgotten and unwanted even by your creators.' The slap across her face brought tears to her eyes, but it helped to make the sleepiness go away a little.

  'I am invincible!' Petra barked. 'I was cloned from a human and modified to be perfect and indestructible. Nothing can kill me. I am immortal.'

  'And yet here you are, wasting your time with me,' Terra said. 'Immortality must be rather dull.'

  Petra licked her teeth. 'You speak a lot. That's something that's always annoyed me about you.' She stood from her chair and began to pace around the tight space. 'It makes me wonder how anyone can stand you, especially that boy.' Petra's cold eyes met Terra's, shining with delight as fear settled in the pit of Terra's stomach. 'Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't hurt him. I wouldn't want that heart of yours to break.' Petra cackled. 'You do know it's illegal to have feelings for a cyborg, right? Oh, don't go giving me that look. You really thought I wouldn't find out?' Petra clucked her tongue. 'The Nation has clear rules about such things.'

  Terra didn't like where this conversation was headed.

  'I can help you. I can change this tiny problem of yours.'

  'I don't want your help.'

  'But you'll receive it, anyway.'

  The door to the room opened. Terra expected a guard to march inside, but instead Petra's twin brother arrived in his usual white suit. His long blonde hair was beautifully brushed, not a single hair out of place. Petra's face softened as soon as she turned towards him. Those terribly cruel eyes filled with warmth and love at the sight of the X-Prototype. 'Brother, Terra needs our help.' Her voice was teasing, clearly enjoying the suffering she was causing her victim by inflicting fear.

  'Our dear little friend here has a crush on a boy,' Petra said. 'I think we can do something for the poor girl, right?' Viktor nodded. He never spoke, and Terra had wondered many times whether he had a tongue, but surely he did. He was an X-Prototype.

  'No!' Terra said, fighting against the straps. She wouldn't let them bully her any longer. She was stronger than this. Viktor had already messed with her mind and she wasn't going to let him do it again. Ever.

  'You will learn your place,' Petra said. 'And your place in this Nation is to be an obedient human. And as the law says, humans cannot love cyborgs.' Petra's eyes sharpened. 'You will forget this boy. And we'll see whether this little crush is real or not.'

  'I won't forget him.'

  'You will.' Petra stepped away to let her brother take over. The sight of Viktor's face inching closer made Terra cry out, her body tight with fear. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she screamed, pleading for someone to save her.

  'Please,' she begged. 'Please, don't do this!'

  'Don't waste your breath,' Petra said, leaning against the wall. 'And stop crying. In a few minutes you won't even remember why you were doing such a grotesque thing.'

  'Why are you doing this?'

  'I'm helping you, Terra.' Petra crossed her arms against her chest. 'Love is pain. I'll take it away. You won't suffer anymore.'

  Viktor's long slender finger reached up and touched Terra's forehead. She felt the need to bite him, but as soon as the tip of his finger pressed against her skin, her body relaxed, no strength left to fight.

  She tried wrestling the tendrils cruising through her mind, searching for the memories she shared with Kalem, stroking them, wrapping themselves around them and pulling them away. And slowly, they began to vanish.

  Their first encounter, the dreams, the journey to No Man's Land, the nights they had shared a bed together, the first time they had kissed...

  Gone. Within seconds.

  Terra's body shut down as the memories were taken from her forever.

  ...

  Even though everyone thought Kalem spent every single minute of the day hidden down dark alleys, it wasn't true. He did go home to shower, change and eat. He just chose to do it when he knew his mother wasn't around to catch him. He loved her, but sometimes Camille could be a bit too much to handle.

  Climbing the pipes down one side of his battered home was an easy task and he managed to get onto the roof as stealthily as a cat. Carefully, he opened the small window that led to the attic and climbed through. He made it into his room triumphantly, until the door slammed shut behind him and he spun around. His mother stood there, arching her eyebrows at him.

  'You do realise that no matter how much of a ninja you think you are your mother is always going to know best,' she said.

  Kalem grunted as he searched for clean clothes.

  'I'm surprised to see you here,' she added. Her tone of voice sounded hopeful.

  'I'm leaving as soon I get some things.'

  'How about you come downstairs and eat something first?' She gestured towards the door, smiling from ear to ear.

  'Mum...'

  'That way I can tell you about my plan to save Terra.'

  Kalem stared at his mother. He knew she wouldn't trick him in such a vile way, so he was definitely intrigued about what she had to offer. And food helped. A lot.

  Camille sighed, grabbed a black T-shirt from the top drawer of Kalem's cupboard and threw it at him. 'I promise you're going to want to hear this out,' she said as Kalem grunted and quickly changed. 'Come on. I don't have all bloody day.' She grabbed the doorknob and thrust the door open.

  Reluctantly, he followed his mother down into the basement where the kitchen was. His silver eyes widened at the sight of the people sitting inside, especially one particular cyborg with yellow teeth and a mechanical eye.

  Camille ignored everyone as she marched directly towards a pot and began stirring whatever was inside. Kalem followed her, unable to keep his attention off of all the cyborgs crammed inside.

  'What did you do?' he whispered in her ear.

  Camille shrugged, looking pleased with herself. 'You want her back, right?'

  'Of course I do.' He nodded. 'But why do they want her back?' He gestured with his head at everyone else.

  'We knew her before you did, kid,' Hooky said. The cyborg looked comfortable on one o
f the wooden chairs, smoking a cigar that let a blue smoke float up into the ceiling. Camille had to be desperate to let him smoke inside the kitchen. She hated such a thing.

  'What do you want in return?' Kalem asked. He ignored his mother's look of disapproval. He wasn't there to make friends. This was strictly business. His number one priority was Terra.

  'We want her back home, safe,' Hooky said.

  Kalem nodded. He could tell Hooky was being truthful. And even if he wasn't, he didn't care. They needed all the help they could get. He'd worry about consequences later.

  'We have men and women willing to do anything to piss the government off,' Hooky explained.

  Kalem leaned against the counter. The kitchen was a lovely space full of plants, lamps of different shapes and sizes and dozens of pots and pans. He could remember Terra's first glance inside the room and the way her face had brightened. Those mismatched eyes of hers would shine with delight at the contact of her hands against the plants. She would also smell them when she thought no one could see her.

  'So what's the plan?' Kalem asked, crossing his robotic arms against his chest, staring at each and every one of the cyborgs in the room. 'We break into the Government's Headquarters and snatch Terra back from under their noses?'

  Camille's mischievous smile reached her eyes. 'That's precisely what we intend on doing.'

  Chapter five

  The girl that was no longer a girl but a monster made of nightmares and feathers strode along the dark streets of the capital. No one dared approach the monster, and if someone did, it would eliminate them with the flick of its wrist. The sound of their skulls cracking against the walls didn't disturb it. Human lives were insignificant to a creature that had lived for as long as it had.

  The monster was struggling, for within itself, the girl called Scarlet continued to fight against the chains that kept her locked up. The monster was so much stronger, but sometimes, just sometimes, it felt the girl's strength slash and tear at the barriers the monster had created.

  It would find a way to silence her forever, but until then, it continued its slow path of destruction through the streets of Capital One.

  ...

  Terra woke up, startled. It took her a few minutes to remember where she was or why she was strapped to a chair. For just a moment, she thought she was back at home. Her head felt as though someone had stuffed it with cotton. Her eyes wouldn't focus, her tongue was bloated and her lips dry.

  The door to the room opened and a guard marched in, carrying a tray. His face was hidden beneath a helmet, which reflected her horrified look of despair.

  Terra glanced at the bowl on the tray and recoiled at the sight; porridge. She was starving, her stomach growling every five minutes, the sounds echoing off the walls like thunder. But the thought of being fed made her sweat in panic. The guard gripped her face, trying to force her mouth open.

  The white leather glove twisted, the fingers digging deeper and deeper into her flesh. The guard didn't even bother using a spoon. The edge of the bowl was placed by her lips, the porridge making its way down her throat, her eyes watering as she fought against choking, her legs and arms thrashing against the straps keeping her in place.

  The guard finished his torture and left, not even bothering to wipe Terra's mouth which was full of the remains of their encounter. She tried licking it away, but to no use. It didn't matter, she was thankful for the solitude.

  Time passed, and Terra's body slowly relaxed. It seemed as though no one else was coming to torture her and she calmed down against the straps that held her in place. It took her some time to get her breathing back to normal, but once she did, she settled down.

  Terra couldn't help but wonder where her father was and whether he knew his only daughter was missing. Had Petra done something to him? Did he even know he had a daughter? And what about her cousins? Petra had killed their mother, Terra's aunt Diane, and no one had informed them of what had happened. Surely Petra had done something about it, and Terra hoped that whatever she had done, it hadn't required killing any of them.

  Being locked up and restrained made Terra have nothing else to do but think, which led her to memories of her grandmother and her best friend Sasha. She didn't want to remember them, especially knowing that she would never get to see them again. This was a far worse torture than whatever Petra could do.

  She missed her grandmother so much. She hadn't been the best of granddaughters, and that thought brought tears to her eyes. If only she'd been better. If only she had appreciated the moments together a little bit more. Maybe then she wouldn't feel as bad as she did.

  If only she hadn't allowed her selfishness get Sasha killed. If she had stayed away from the Pits and cyborgs, Sasha would still be alive. And what about Damien? She prayed that he was okay and safe at home. She would go to him if she ever got out of this. He deserved to know what had happened to Sasha. He deserved an explanation, if only that.

  'You look sad.'

  Petra's voice startled Terra. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even heard the door opening. Fear began to make its way through her body, settling in the pit of her stomach at the sight of the X-Prototype in front of her.

  'I'm sure my company will make you feel so much better,' Petra said. 'Scarlet is taking way too much time in rescuing you. It makes me wonder how important you are to her. Not much from what I can tell.' Petra waited, one golden eyebrow raised, waiting for a reaction. 'Not in the mood for a chat?' Petra leaned in closer, those cold blue eyes sharp. 'Oh? Why are you shaking like that? Are you scared? You shouldn't be. I'd never hurt you.'

  An excruciating burning sensation shot through Terra's right leg at that precise instant. She didn't want to look down to see what it was that was causing such pain, but not knowing seemed even worse. Glancing down, the room began to spin. Petra's long slender fingers twisted and turned into claws, embedded in Terra's flesh. Petra dug her claws further in, blood gushing out of the wound.

  'I missed the smell of your blood,' the X-Prototype said, sniffing the air. She pulled her hand out and proceeded to lick her now human fingers which were smeared in crimson liquid. 'The taste is even better.'

  'Why don't you just kill me and get it over with? Scarlet won't come. The Destroyer took over her body. Scarlet isn't there.' The words that left Terra's mouth hurt more than her wound, but she knew them to be true. Scarlet wasn't there anymore. She'd allowed the monster to take over to save everyone, and there was no going back now.

  'She'll come,' Petra said. 'The Destroyer will come. I have a part of it, as well as you. It'll come for us.'

  'Then I'm dead anyway. The Destroyer will take what it claims and we'll die.'

  'You'll die in any case. But don't worry. I won't let mean Scarlet hurt you.'

  'Why are you so obsessed with her?'

  Sweat rolled down Terra's face and her neck itched. She wasn't about to ask Petra to scratch the itch away, but the thought almost made her laugh. It was good to know she could still feel such an emotion after everything that had happened.

  'I am not obsessed with her.'

  'What did she do to you that makes you hate her so much?'

  Petra stared at the wall, lost in thought. It was odd to see her do such a thing, almost human. It was confusing and Terra felt immediately sorry for having asked such a thing. She didn't want to see Petra as anything but inhuman.

  For a moment Terra thought Petra would start talking, but instead those cold blue eyes slit to razors and her mouth curled into a nasty snarl. 'You talk too much,' she said.

  Petra's fingers began to transform into claws and before Terra could even open her mouth to scream, the claws vanished into her leg again, twisting and turning within the open wound. The pain was so intolerable Terra was pretty sure that she lost consciousness. As soon as the claws vanished, relief took over and Terra's body relaxed. It didn't last long. Petra tightened her claws around Terra's neck, the sharp edge of them digging into
her flesh, drawing blood.

  Tensing against the seat, Terra kicked out against the straps, her lungs fighting for air. She could feel the life being drained out of her as her face began to burn, her skin stretching and her features bloating, the blood in her veins crying out, almost exploding.

  'Fascinating how your life is so fragile,' Petra said, leaning in closer. 'If I squeeze just a tiny bit more you will die.' Fascination swirled in those eyes. 'And I can choose to save you.' She let go, stepping away from Terra as the human girl slumped against the chair, gasping for air, spitting drool out as she coughed.

  'Never forget how powerful I am, Terra Underwood. I could end you whenever I please, and each day that you breathe is because I allow it. Because I've chosen to grant you one more day.'

  Petra leaned in close and kissed Terra's sweaty forehead, freezing her to the spot. Her chest rose and fell erratically and the more she tried to control it, the worse it got. Every inch of her body shook violently and her throat was badly bruised.

  Petra's mouth was mere inches from Terra's ear. 'You're not special,' the X-Prototype whispered. 'Never forget that, Terra Underwood. You're not special.'

  Chapter six

  'I need a drink,' Eric said as he fell into a chair in the kitchen. Morgana dropped into the one next to his.

  'Where have you been?' Camille asked, frowning at them both as she rinsed a few bowls. 'You both look as though you've been dragged across the city by Watchers.'

  'We were out,' Eric replied, ignoring Morgana's disapproving look. 'Making the world a better place.'

  'Well.' Camille placed her hands on her hips. 'While you were out doing that,' she motioned towards their dirty clothes and scratches, 'I was actually here making plans.'